acting workshop with jeanne hartman.

The primary objective for my trip to Hong Kong was the Acting Workshop with Jeanne Hartman, Hollywood acting coach & author of “The Right Questions for Actors” .

Quite a few people were surprised (shocked?) by my decision to travel to HK just for the acting workshop, but I felt it was an opportunity worth traveling for. I attended both the Professional Acting Workshop (Dec 9-10) as well as the Open Class (Dec 12).

Before I go into details, these are the crazy people I got to work with in the Professional class!

Don’t worry, we’re all pretty sane people. Most of the time.

On the morning of Dec 9 (Wed), I stepped into a totally unfamiliar environment with people I met for the first time. Many of them seemed to know each other, and I was the total newbie. But every single person had a similar passion for acting, and by the end of 2 days, I felt like part of the family.

Not only out-and-out actors were involved, a few were directors, producers, with even a musician and a dancer in our mix of performers. Jeanne created a safe environment for us to work through scenes. We trusted one another enough to cry, to shout, to laugh, to fall down & be silly. We learnt through individual guidance from Jeanne, and also through watching others work through their scenes.

As I’m part of a Scene Work group in Singapore that meets weekly to work through scenes, I understand the value of constant practice & working on the craft of acting. Working with Jeanne was an extension of these weekly sessions, and I got to work on detailed parts of my acting muscle such as using my emotional strength even when I play vulnerable characters. The opportunity to work through the audition process, the scenes & partners we had to work with… I felt each & every part contributed to my learning during the workshop.

That said, it still requires a lot of reflection & internalization to truly use everything that Jeanne taught us during the classes. And I look forward to bringing what I’ve learnt back to my actors in Singapore!

I hope Jeanne gets the chance to come to Singapore to coach actors here. Nevertheless, I’ll be back in HK when Jeanne comes to teach again! What I loved most was the chance to spend three full days working on my craft. Acting. Doing scenes. Working with other actors. Watching other actors perform.

I love that passion for acting.